


Those Beautiful Eyes

by GayAssTrash



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Chaptered, Fluff, Food, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, M/M, Phan - Freeform, Phanfiction, reached for the last snack item at the same time au, ~no update schedule bc lazy~
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-13
Updated: 2015-08-19
Packaged: 2018-04-09 05:21:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4335470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GayAssTrash/pseuds/GayAssTrash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dan reached for the last bag of Maltesers at the same time as a stranger did. He looked up to see who it was, and his breath hitched. He was looking into the most mesmerizing baby blue crystals he'd ever seen.</p><p>Based off of the "reached for the last snack at the same time" AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Cinema

Dan stepped out of the Leicester Square Underground Station and marveled at the weather for a second. The sun was shining, hardly any clouds in the sky. And of course, he was wearing skinny jeans and a black t-shirt. He groaned internally as he started walking to the cinema.

The sound of chatter and general human interaction surrounded him as he walked. Dan kept his head down as he walked, avoiding eye contact, although, he looked up every ten seconds or so, making sure he wouldn’t bump into anybody. He walked quickly, scared that the strangers he passed were judging him in their heads. He focused on his shoes, and tried to ignore the thought.

Thankfully, the cinema was only a two or three minute walk away from the Station, so he didn’t have to be in a large open space for long. He checked his phone for the time. _2:37 pm_. The movie started at 3, but considering it was a Wednesday, which meant cheap tickets and long queues, and that he was seeing Jurassic World, which would probably sell out, it was best to get there early. _Chill the fuck out_ , he told himself, taking a deep breath and pushing the door open.

There were five long queues being managed by bored cashiers about his age. He had pre-ordered his ticket, so he didn’t join a queue just yet. He quadruple checked for his wallet, which of course was still there. He headed for the Pick n’ Mix first, as he always did.

Dan grabbed a foam cup and started filling it. He heard the doors open and close a couple of times, but didn’t dare to look. As he poured a scoopful of cola bottles into his cup, he heard footsteps coming his way. His face blanched at the thought of human interaction, which he thought was ridiculously stupid of him, and prayed that he didn’t know this person. They stopped about a foot away from him, and he let out a sigh of relief, which he hoped they didn’t notice.

Dan continued filling his cup with various sweets and chocolates, avoiding the stranger as best he could. They smelled like a Cinnamon Vanilla Yankee Candle, which he liked. Dan inhaled deeply. The image of the flaming candle flashed through his mind and he smiled at the ground, hoping the stranger wasn’t telepathic. The scent reminded him of happy childhood Christmases, when life was so much easier for him. He remembered being fully happy with himself, feeling warm and protected in his mother’s arms. His cheeks reddened, and he snapped himself out of his daze.

After filling his cup and putting the plastic lid on top, he headed to join one of the queues. Halfway to the end of the closest queue, he realized that he’d forgotten something vital. A bag of Maltesers. He turned back, and saw that there was only one bag left. He thanked God (despite his atheism) and walked back over to them. However, he reached for them just as someone else did. Their hands touched, just for a second. Dan looked up to see who it was, and his breath hitched.

He was looking into mesmerizing baby-blue crystals. The stranger was a man with beautiful black hair, who didn’t look much older than Dan himself. He was staring into Dan’s eyes too, and Dan stood there, paralyzed by this man’s stare. Dan realized that his heart-eyes had made an appearance, and snapped out of his daze. He looked to the ground and mumbled an apology.

The stranger was snapped out of it as soon as he was, and started speaking. “Oh, no, I’m sorry. You can have them. I’m Phil, by the way.” He reached his hand out, and Dan shook it.

“I’m Dan.” He smiled nervously, bringing his eyes back to Phil’s face. “Thanks, Phil.”

“No problem!” Phil chirped. Then they stood there, grinning rather idiotically at one another for a few seconds. Phil grabbed a bag of Minstrels instead, and they parted ways, heading for separate queues.

Once Dan got to the end of one, he swore in his head. He wanted to be casual, but he’d been so clearly into that guy. _But how couldn’t I be?_ He asked himself. _Those eyes were dazzling. His hair was amazing. His smile was so cute. He-_ Dan cut off his train of thought, trying not to get too caught up. Odds were, Phil was straight.

Dan didn’t really mind that he was bi, but it was hard sometimes when he’d had people in his life telling him it was wrong for as long as he could remember. He’d known he was bi since he was 13 or 14, and he’d told his mum soon after he had realized. She was the most supportive person ever, and he felt happy with life. She always fought for him, and never discouraged anything he did. He was devastated after the accident she’d been in. . Cried himself to sleep for months. The pain never really went away. It just - dullened. He just sort of got used to it.

Dan was brought back to the real world when he discovered that he was at the top of the queue. The cashier was a young, pretty woman. She had dark skin, and such beautiful curls. She smelled of raspberries, but it wasn’t as nice a scent as Phil's. With kind eyes, she asked him what he needed.

“Oh right, yeah.” He replied, placing what he’d got from the Pick n’ Mix on the counter. He pulled out the receipt for his ticket booking from his wallet, telling her he was seeing Jurassic World. She scanned his receipt and sweets, and asked him if he wanted anything else. He politely requested a large Coke, which she got him straight away. She handed over his drink and ticket, and told him the price. He handed over a £10 note and told her to keep the change. She grinned.

As he turned to leave, he said “Um, excuse me, but I’d just like to tell you that I think your hair is really pretty. Also, thank you.” Her grin stretched from ear to ear, and she got slightly flustered, before thanking him.

He walked away happy that he’d brightened someone’s day, and looked at his ticket. _SCREEN 4. ROW K. SEAT 30_. It read. He briefly looked around before heading to the screen, and saw Phil at the counter. He smiled, despite himself, and headed towards Screen 4.

A cinema employee stood outside each of the screens, as always. He handed the employee his ticket, and took it back after it was inspected. He walked into Screen 4, and checked his phone for the time. _2:49 pm_. The ads were just beginning to play as he walked in. Another employee directed him to the general area of his seat, explaining that the screening was sold out, and so he had to sit next to someone. He sighed once the employee left, hoping he wasn’t sitting beside any children or men in general, and sat down. Luckily, he’d got an aisle seat, so he’d only be sitting beside one person.

He was watching the trailer for Inside Out, which he was quite intrigued by. and Halfway through it, a tall, presumably male figure shuffled past him and sat beside him. He sighed, hoping the person wouldn’t be on their phone for the film, and that they wouldn’t try to strike up conversation with him. However, it was a hope short lived.

“Hi, it’s me again!” Said a familiar voice. It was Phil. Dan grinned; he really did like Phil, despite hardly knowing him. Dan turned to him. “Hey Phil!” He tried his best to sound at least slightly confident. Phil seemed to believe it, as he just smiled back.

“So, you think this is gonna be good?” Phil asked. Even though Dan had hoped the person beside him wouldn’t talk to him, he was really happy that Phil did. “Yeah, I heard it’s meant to be great. Also, it’s broke box office records, so that’s a good sign.” He replied, making an effort to seem completely comfortable with socializing. It was weird though, because he felt he didn’t have to make such an effort with Phil.

“Yeah, I heard it’s got some _really_ good reviews. Plus, Chris Pratt’s in it, so straight away it’s _awesome_.” Dan thought Phil’s accent was cute, especially his emphasizing of certain words.

Before Dan had the chance to reply, the Universal Logo flashed onto the screen, and his attention turned to it. He could still smell Phil’s cinnamon-vanilla scent, which he was happy about. The movie started with a close up of a dinosaur egg. The dino inside the egg was scratching at it, about to hatch. It cracked, and he got a glimpse of the baby dinosaur’s eye, before the movie cut to the next scene. Dan was deeply intrigued.

Phil wasn’t paying so much attention to the movie, though. His eyes were fixated on Dan’s lips. He had a smooth, succulent smile. They were incredible. Phil got butterflies in his tummy just from staring at him. He’d seen how Dan had stared at him, and knew that he too, to some extent, was into Phil. Phil didn’t want to get carried away, or make Dan uncomfortable, though. So, after a minute or so, he turned back to the movie, hoping Dan hadn’t noticed him.

Dan reached for the bag of Maltesers, only to find that they were still closed. He ripped of the plastic seal, trying to do so quietly, and failing. He swore in his head, before popping a few Maltesers into his mouth and refocusing on the movie. He was watching intently when he got a tap on his shoulder, followed by Phil whispering “Hey Dan, could I have a Malteser? Please?”

Dan usually wouldn’t share Maltesers with anyone, because he loved them so much. But Phil was… _different_ , somehow. He felt like they could be best friends. And Dan was terrible at the whole friends thing. He snapped out of his thoughts, realizing he still hadn’t answered. He nodded at Phil, and extended the bag towards him. Phil thanked him quietly, and they stayed staring into each others’ eyes again, enchanted.

Phil was almost hypnotized by Dan’s eyes. They were beautiful, deep, chocolate pools, which he got lost in. People always dismissed brown eyes, and Phil never understood why. The way they reacted with light, and changed colors. The wide variety of browns, from coffee to chocolate to copper to cinnamon. They were marvelous, and Phil loved it. Dan’s seemed even more enrapturing than any others, though.

Dan was so caught up in Phil’s gorgeous eyes that he forgot he was in the cinema. His eyes were a different colour with this lighting, darker now. They were incredible. More interesting that the movie, which he’d been really enjoying.

After a minute or so, they both realized that it was getting awkward, and so turned back to the film. Since that encounter, though, Phil robbed the occasional Malteser, which Dan found quite adorable. They payed less attention to the film playing, which was actually really great, and more to each other’s faces. They digested every little detail, trying their best to not be visibly checking out the other’s face.

As the end credits started rolling and the lights came back on, Dan stood up to leave, tired from sitting almost completely still for over two hours. He looked around, making sure he wasn’t leaving anything behind. He saw his empty Maltesers wrapper on the ground, and reached down for it. He knew he’d hate to clean up after others, so why make others clean up after him?

Phil reached for it at the same time as him, and they bumped heads. “ _Shit!_ ” Dan exclaimed, while Phil moaned “ _Oww!_ ”. He marveled at the fact that Phil’s first reaction wasn’t a swear word, not knowing why that was important to him.

Dan then picked up the wrapper, before apologizing to Phil for their collision. “No really, it’s fine.” Phil replied, before smiling sweetly. Dan turned away to leave, but was called back by Phil.

“Dan! I was wondering if I could, erm- if we could, go out for a coffee some time, maybe?”

Dan grinned like a dork immediately. He really liked Phil, and wanted to ask the same thing, but he was too scared of denial. “Of course, Phil!”

“Oh, great! Well, I’ll just give you my number, and you can text me later!” Phil took out his phone, and called out his number to Dan. Dan typed in Phil’s number, before giving Phil his number, too. “In case I forget to text, or feel too awkward or something. Y’know…” He said, not wanting to drop contact with Phil. He also found it comforting that if - _when_ \- he texted Phil, he’d know who it was straight away.

“Also Dan,” Phil smirked, which gave Dan butterflies in his stomach, “Thanks for the Maltesers.” Dan’s smile spread from ear to ear. He left the cinema thinking of how amazing Phil was. He walked back to the Underground Station and got the tube home smiling like a fool.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would just like to say that THIS FANFIC TOOK LITERALLY FOUR DAYS TO START. It took countless cups of tea to write this, especially the first hundred words or so. Also, thanks to Ciara and Kelly Smelly for helping me with it. I know it's really trash, but still.  
> If anyone has any better ideas for a title pLEASE TELL ME. I HATE the title (well, partially), so yeah.


	2. The Coffee Shop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil invites Dan to hang out, and they get coffee together at Starbucks.

Phil woke up later than he should have on Saturday. He'd set his alarm for 9 am, and had slept through it. He knew that he'd slept in as soon as he woke up. He pulled his phone out from under his pillow, and checked the time. Squinting at the bright screen, he discovered that it was just past 10:30. Great, he thought. At least he didn't have work today.

He'd had a lovely dream, though. It was about him and Dan, whom he'd met three days ago, and hardly knew. But it didn't feel that way. He felt that he connected to Dan, as if they were meant to be together. Soul Mates.

Phil sighed at the thought. He never believed in destiny or love at first sight, and yet here he was.

He hadn't really stopped thinking about Dan since they'd met. His beautiful brown eyes were permanently engraved in his mind. Every time he focused on it, he'd start smiling like a lovestruck fool. Which he basically was.

He snapped himself out of his daydreams, and hopped up out of bed. He stood in nothing but his Pikachu boxers, and headed to the bathroom.

After using the toilet and having a lukewarm shower - he couldn't stand one any hotter, what with the heatwave - Phil strolled into the kitchen and grabbed a box of Shreddies from one of the presses. He filled the kettle, and ate cereal from the box as he waited for it to boil.

Once it did, he poured himself a cup of coffee. Not bean-ground coffee; he never liked that stuff. Just Nescafé for him. He sat at the dining table, and had his breakfast.

After filling himself with dry cereal, and being fully woken up and energized by the coffee, Phil proceeded to do what he did for 60% of his free time - scroll the internet. He sat there on his phone, not feeling the time go by, and before he knew it, it was almost 12. Not wanting to waste the day completely, he decided to text Dan.

 

Dan was lying on what had recently become his bed, reading City of Bones, when his phone buzzed. Presuming Carrie, his flatmate (she was actually just letting him crash at her place for a while) had texted him, he picked up the phone. He was pleasantly surprised to see that it was Phil.

He'd told Carrie all about him as soon as he'd got home from the Cinema on Wednesday, and they were both over the moon. Dan hadn't ever been in a real relationship with a guy before. Well, there was that one time when he was 15, but he much preferred not to think about that.

" _Hi Dan! I was just wondering, do you wanna go out for a coffee today? If you're not free, we could do it some other time! :)_ " Dan beamed at the text. He texted back almost immediately, saying " _Hey Phil! I'm definitely free today, and I'd love to get a coffee with you! Will we meet at Starbucks on Coventry Street?_ " He was excited for this. He would get to sit with Phil and talk about himself, about Phil, about everything.

He wanted to get to know Phil. Badly. He wanted to know Phil.

Dan's Phone buzzed again, and he read Phil's reply. " _Great! Sure thing, see you there at 1:30 ish?_ " Dan got up from his bed, and texted Phil back. " _Yeah sure! Can't wait! :D_ ".

He checked the time on his phone. _12:03 pm_. He needed to have a shower. He headed towards the bathroom, got stripped, and turned on the shower. After letting it heat up for a minute, he stepped in, feeling the warm water fall down his back. The water wasn't much hotter than the weather had been that week, due to the heatwave that Britain was suffering from.

Dan hated summer. He much preferred winter, when it was socially acceptable to stay in, wrapped up in blankets, watching movies or TV shows on Netflix.

Dan washed his hair quickly, wanting to definitely be ready and on time. After he finished cleaning himself, he hopped out and towel-dried himself, his hair refusing to comply. Wrapping the towel around his waist in case Carrie came home for whatever reason and saw him naked, he walked into the spare room. He grabbed a pair of blue spotted socks and superman underwear from his drawer, because why not, and put them on. He then dropped his towel, and blow dried his hair.

Once his hair was dry, he plugged in his hair straightener, and rid himself of his curly hobbit hair. Dan had never really liked his hobbit hair that much, but he'd been told by quite a few people that it was cute or adorable. He definitely preferred his hair to be straight.

Having not eating anything all morning, Dan poured himself a bowl of Lucky Charms, and a cup of tea in Carrie's Gryffindor mug. He sat at Carrie's dining table, and played Fall Out Boy on his phone while he ate. He finished his cereal and tea within 15 minutes, and put his dishes in the dishwasher, like a good, clean flatmate.

It was only then that Dan realized that he was wearing nothing but his underwear. He probably would've stayed that way too, if he wasn't going on what could be his first date. Just thinking that got Dan all excited and squeal-ish and slightly nervous. He loved the idea of romance, no matter how idealistic and heteronormative it was at times.

Dan pulled out a pair of dark blue jeans and a space-print t-shirt. _Yeah, these'll do_ , he thought. He threw them on, smiling at how well his outfit described him. He knew that he'd probably be roasting in what he was wearing, but Starbucks had AC, so it wasn't that big a deal. After debating with himself, he threw in a pair of black earrings.

Being as time-conscious as always, Dan pulled out his phone. _12:46 pm_. He needed to leave like now if he wanted to catch the Underground on time. He threw his phone back into his left pocket, along with a pair of earphones. In his right pocket, his wallet and some Extra Mint chewing gum. He grabbed his set of keys, and left the flat.

 

Phil walked into Starbucks just before 1:30 pm. He saw Dan almost straight away, sitting alone at a table. His head down, focused on his phone. He sneaked up behind Dan and made a high-pitched meow in his ear. Dan jumped, and looked back.

"Jesus _Christ_ , Phil!" he exclaimed, trying not to be too loud. Phil laughed at Dan's reaction. After recovering from the scare, Dan stood up and hugged Phil.

“You need glasses?” Dan asked, not recalling him wearing them before.

“Yeah, but I wear contacts most of the time.” He replied, smiling.

“Nice.” Dan commented, before asking “Should we order now?”

“Did you not order already?” Phil wondered, slightly confused. Dan shook his head. “I wanted to wait for you.” Phil blushed slightly, even though he knew that Dan had only waited like a decent human being. They both joined the queue, and stood together in an amicable silence for a minute.

“So Dan, what’s your last name?” Phil asked, finding a pretty easy ice-breaker.

“Howell. _Dan_ Howell.” He replied, saying it like he was James Bond. Phil laughed at him. He smiled. “What about you?”

“Phil Lester.” He replied, before they moved to the front of the queue.

The barista was a tall, tanned, early-twenties man. He had dark-brown hair, and gorgeous emerald eyes. “So, what can I getcha?” He asked Phil, in an adorable American accent. Phil didn’t pay attention to how attractive he was, though. He was with Dan, on what he hoped would end up being their first date. He didn’t need a dreamy American Starbucks barista.

“Oh, I’ll have a Caramel Frappuccino with coffee and cream, please.” He smiled. “Mhm,” The barista said as he took down Phil’s order. “And uh, what can I get for your boyfriend?”

Dan and Phil both tried to clear up that they weren’t dating, but all that came out were awkward “err” noises. Dan then decided to just overlook it and order. “Um, I’ll have a Cinnamon Chai Latte, thanks.”

“And can I get your names?” The barista asked. They said their names simultaneously, before looking at each other and giggling. He smirked, and walked off to make their coffees.

They then stood waiting for their orders to be called. Phil wanted to strike conversation with Dan, but he had a lot of questions. And the majority of them we're about his personal life. He didn't want to start the conversation until they were both sitting comfortably and with coffee.

Phil's order was called first, and he took it almost immediately. Dan was staring off in thought. He really did like Phil, and he was a little worried that he'd end up doing something stupid that'd make Phil not like him. He was trying to reassure himself that he'd be fine, and that he was a great person. It kinda helped.

Phil noticed that Dan was staring off, and took the opportunity to get a close-up view of him. He took in all Dan's little details; the gentle curve of his chin, his barely distinguishable adam’s apple, the way his neck all but melted into his shoulders . He was beautiful, there was no denying it.

Dan's order was called, and they were both snapped out of their reveries by it. Dan took his drink, and they both sat down where Dan had been before Phil showed up.

Dan sipped on his coffee, eagerly wanting to ask Phil a million questions, but not wanting to push them all on him straight away. He didn't know where to start, either. Phil did though, so he broke the ice.

"So, I'm Phil. I'm 28, I'm from Lancashire, and I really like lions. What about you?"

All of a sudden Dan felt much more comfortable with Phil. He'd felt it in the cinema on Wednesday, and there it was again. It was as if Phil radiated confidence and comfort. "Erm, I'm Dan, I'm 24, from Berkshire, and I like dinosaurs?" He introduced himself, slightly unsure of his last response.

"Ooh, Berkshire," Phil commented, "So you're from the south. That'd explain why you sound like Winnie the Pooh." He smiled. Dan had been picked on a bit in school for the way he talked when he was younger, but Phil seemed to like it, so that was a good thing.

"Yeah, I sound like the Queen. So, what music do you listen to?" Dan asked.

"I like a lot of music, actually. But I really like Ed Sheeran, Fall Out Boy, umm... Oh, Muse are really good. That's what I'm mainly listening to at the moment. Who are you listening to?" Phil replied, putting emphasis on certain words the way he did.

"Oh my God, I _love_ Muse!" Dan exclaimed. Phil giggled a little at how passionate he got. "Years  & Years are great aswell. Fall Out Boy, Kanye West. I have a question: what song is your guilty pleasure?"

Phil laughed at the question. "Um, it's _got_ to be Toxic by Britney Spears." They chuckled, thinking about the song. "What's yours, Dan?"

"Oh man, it has to be... any One Direction song, really." He admitted.

"Really!?" Phil chortled. Dan nodded in response. "Not even sorry, to be honest."

 

They spent the following hour or so discussing their interests, and it turned out that they had a lot in common. They talked about any and everything, from space to pokémon to Kanye West. They both felt so completely comfortable around each other, as if they'd been friends for years. Dan couldn't stop smiling, and he knew he must've looked stupid, but Phil found it adorable.

"Alright Dan, we've spent a good while talking about what we like, so could I bring up who we like, if that’s alright with you?” Phil asked, knowing that he could be entering sensitive or awkward territory. Dan simply responded with “Sure”, although inside he was feeling excited and a little nervous and a million other feelings all at once.

“Well, I’m just gonna put it straight out there,” Phil announced, “I’m pansexual. Basically it means that-”

“I know, gender doesn’t matter and you’re ‘gender-blind’ and stuff like that.” Dan finished for him. He’d educated himself pretty well on the sexuality spectrum when he was a teenager, with the help of the internet.

“So, I was wondering,” Phil said, hoping Dan wouldn’t mind talking about it, “Who do you like?”

Dan took a deep breath through his nose. He’d uttered these two words more times than he could remember, and the majority of those weren’t positive times. He felt the nervous butterflies in his tummy again, which made him question himself, because he knew Phil would be fine with it. _How could Phil, a queer man, insult me, another queer man, for being queer?_ He quickly reasoned with himself, and the butterflies fled.

“I’m bi.” He said, quite louder than he usually would’ve. He was so used to murmuring it that it felt weird to say it loud enough for those sitting away from him to hear. He was happy with it, though.

“Cool!” Phil answered, sounding as supportive as ever. He had another question, but was rather anxious to ask it. He began reasoning with himself, muttering to himself. Dan noticed, but found it endearing. He talked to himself all the time, and it was nice to know that he wasn’t the only one.

“Erm, Dan, I don’t really know how to say this, but… I like you. I really like you. And I know that we’ve only properly just met an hour ago but I just feel so great when I’m with you. I know that sounded so cheesy, but it’s true. So, do you wanna be my boyfriend?” Phil asked, rather self-conscious all of a sudden.

Dan didn’t know what to say. Of course he liked Phil back, but the idea of them two actually becoming something was so far-off and impossible. Then he started to feel nervous, about him screwing the relationship up further down the road. He tried to shake that off as best he could. After that he felt excited and warm inside. He knew that a relationship with Phil would be filled with nights when they’d stay up to watch tv shows together and lots of cuddles and kisses and romance.

At that point Dan realized that Phil had asked the question at least two minutes ago, and that he’d just sat there, letting his emotions take over one by one. “Yes! Yes Phil!” He exclaimed.

“Great!” Phil smiled, relieved that he didn’t embarrass himself. Once said relief washed over him, he grinned from ear to ear. They both sat there smiling at one another for almost 5 full minutes. Dan pulled out his phone to check the time, being as conscious as always. _3:04 pm_. He had plenty of time to hang out with Phil.

So he did just that.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually got this finished tonight oh my god. A huge thanks to my biffle Ciara for proofreading this for me literally 5 minutes ago. You're awesome Ciara.  
> Also I would like to fight Dan Howell for claiming to be Phil Trash #1 as that is actually me, so hmu if you can get my message to him.


	3. The Arcade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After hanging out for a while at Starbucks, Phil surprises his new boyfriend by bringing him to an arcade for their first date.

Phil sat talking with his new boyfriend for the next half hour. Well, it was more like half talking and half smiling like an idiot at him. Dan returned the lovestruck smile, his heart eyes making a huge appearance. He didn't mind this time though, and just kept smiling into Phil's marvelous eyes, which were closer to an azure colour in the current lighting.

An employee then came up to them and offered them both water. They knew that they would soon be politely asked to leave, which was regular Starbucks practice. Phil declined, thanking the employee telling her that they were just leaving. She nodded, acknowledging the reply, and walked away.

Dan collected the sugar packets and coffee stirrers from the table and put them in Phil's plastic frappuccino cup, and threw it all away. Phil stood waiting for Dan, and once he was rejoined, they both left the coffee shop.

"So, what d'you wanna do now?" Phil asked, hoping Dan would stay with him for a good while longer.

"Dunno; where d'you wanna go? I've got nowhere else to be." Dan replied, looking at his new boyfriend wonderingly. Just calling Phil that in his head gave him butterflies. He was a really romantic person, Dan. He was a sucker for clichés and cheesy tropes and "chick flicks" and just the idea of romance. He craved a relationship where he could just snuggle the person for hours while watching (preferably Disney) movies.

Phil snapped Dan out of his reverie, telling him "I think I know where we should go. Come on, I'll surprise you." Phil had a playful smile on his face, which Dan thought was better than a mischievous one. Dan muttered something about regret, and the started walking.

Phil entwined his fingers in between Dan's, which took Dan by surprise. After recovering from his momentary freeze, and realizing that they were holding hands, he smiled widely; probably wider than holding hands should've made him smile.

Dan had been walking alongside his boyfriend, fingers interlaced, for twenty minutes when they got to the Westminster Bridge. Phil still hadn't told him where they were going, but Dan didn't really mind. They'd been talking the whole time, about their favourite animals, whether giraffes made noises, and debating who did better animal impressions.

Dan couldn't help smiling nonstop, and felt like the main girl from every cheesy straight romance movie ever, which there were so many of. He couldn't articulate how happy he felt, or how much he liked Phil. There was only one word he thought fit Phil's character - _amazing_. He looked at Phil with pure adoration, amazement and awe. He was so caught up in Phil's beauty - both body and personality - that he didn't hear Phil's next question.

"Dan?" He asked, staring at his boyfriend in slight curiosity. Dan snapped out of his mental appreciation, and got muddled when asked what was on his mind. His cheeks went crimson, and he tried to stutter an excuse, but to no avail. Phil giggled at him, and repeated the question.

They kept walking and talking for another five minutes, Dan paying little attention to where they were going. It was only when Phil opened the door and politely let Dan go in ahead of himself when Dan realized where they were.

"You brought me to an arcade!? Oh my God!" He exclaimed. They'd talked about their shared passion for video games, and games in general, but Dan didn't think Phil'd keep it in mind.

"See? I _knew_ you'd like it!" Phil smiled, content with his success.

"Best first date ever," Dan stated, before kissing Phil. It was a quick kiss, only a simple peck to the lips, but it was a kiss all the same. They both then stood blushing at one another, slightly flustered.

After smiling dorkily at one another for a minute, Phil said "Let's get started!" So they did just that.

They began with a game of air hockey. Dan scored first, and then again a second time. Phil got the next point, but Dan got another two following straight after.

"I was just getting warmed up." Phil made up an excuse. "I'm actually gonna whoops your ass." He said. Dan couldn't help but laugh at the other boy's poor attempt at trash talking him.

"Oh really? And how're you gonna do that? I only need three more points, and how many do you need? Oh yeah, that's right. Six" Dan pointed out cockily. His self-assurance distracted him from the game, though, and Phil scored another point. This earned Dan a well deserved, "Ha!" from Phil.

Dan put on a more concentrated face, which Phil found quite hot if he was honest. He scored another point, but Phil then got another two. Dan swore under his breath. Phil was catching up, and fast.

Phil scored yet again, and Dan swore again, loud enough for Phil to hear this time. They were tied now, and only needed two points each to win. Dan took the game probably a bit more serious than he should've, but Phil was just laughing throughout the whole thing.

Dan scored, smirking at Phil, sensing his victory approach. Phil scored, and returned the smirk. They were both tied, and the next point was the winning point. Dan practically had this in the bag. Or so he thought.

The puck was hit from one end to the other and back a couple of times. Dan smashed it towards the goal, but Phil managed to block it, and sent it into the other goal, claiming _ultimate victory_.

Dan couldn't believe that that had actually just happened.

"Told ya!" Phil declared playfully, before jokingly telling Dan how he was the deserved winner and better player.

"Are you _kidding_ me!?" Dan exclaimed, his voice raising by at least an octave. "That was literally _the biggest_ fluke. _Ever_." Phil chuckled at him, and mentally noted how Dan emphasized certain words. Dan continued fake-complaining about the “unfair” result, but Phil just offered that they both go play something else.

They played a couple of first person shooter games, all of which Dan won, and one of the racing games, which Phil was the victor of. They were both having a great time, and had been holding hands for almost the whole time. A teenage girl even came up to them and told them that they were a cute couple, which made Dan’s cheeks turn a very deep shade of red.

They were strolling around the arcade, looking for another game to play when Dan saw it. He froze immediately, and grabbed Phil's arm to make him stop too.

"What is it?" Phil asked, looking at the younger boy with slight worry and confusion.

"It's a DDR machine!" Dan announced, sounding a whole lot more excited than Phil thought he ought to be. Phil looked at Dan confused, wondering why there was so much excitement in his voice.

“Yeah… and?” Phil asked, feeling quite muddled.

“ _I love DDR so much, you don’t understand!_ ” Dan blurted out enthusiastically, the words blurring together in his excitement. Phil understood none of what his boyfriend had just exclaimed, and gave him a look of mild concern.

"Dan," Phil began somewhat wearily, "Could you repeat that? Only a little slower, and a little calmer this time, please." He didn't want to be rude and offend Dan on their first date, so he asked the question carefully. Dan blushed, realizing how excited he had gotten.

"Sorry. I said I love DDR so much and you don't understand." Dan reiterated, making sure he pronounced everything understandably. Phil made an "Ohh!" sound of understanding, and smiled at Dan.

"So, can we play?" Dan asked, looking up at the elder boy with excited, pleading eyes.

"I'm probably gonna collapse after this because I'm so lazy, but I may as well give it a go." Phil replied, bringing another smile to Dan's face, as well as his cute dimple.

Dan rushed toward the DDR machine ahead of Phil, who walked over at a reasonable pace. Dan put in the money for the both of them, and had just selected Two Player Mode when Phil joined him, standing on the Player 2 platform. Dan set both of their difficulty levels to level 3, and picked the first song, which was called _Dynamite Rave_.

"You're going down." He smirked at Phil as the song started. Phil replied with another terrible comeback, but all he did was distract himself from the game. Dan wasn't fazed by the poor attempt of trash talk, and almost every one of his moves were perfect. Phil missed a few moves here and there, whilst Dan didn't even worry about doing such a thing.

The song ended, and Phil was a little out of breath. Dan got an 'A' and Phil got a 'C'. Dan's highest combo was 84, which absolutely _destroyed_ Phil's max combo of 37. Dan smirked victoriously at Phil, who told him to shut up before he had the chance to make a comment.

"I get to choose next!" Phil stated. After quickly scrolling through a few songs, he stopped on one, and smiled at Dan mischievously. He hit play before Dan had the chance to read the song title, but recognized it as soon as it started playing, and laughed at Phil's choice. It was MC Hammer's _U Can't Touch This_.

They both ended up singing along halfway through the song. They both laughed about it, but Dan didn't let it ruin his concentration. Phil however was less focused, and missed out on a few steps as he stopped to giggle. He quickly rejoined and missed no moves after that.

Dan once again annihilated Phil, landing another 'A' and Phil scoring a 'D'.  Dan made a joke about  Phil getting "The D", and Phil mumbled a retort about his sex life.

"But there is no way I deserved a D!" Phil exclaimed. "I hardly missed any moves!" Dan rolled his eyes and smiled at his reaction.

"Alright yeah whatever," Dan dismissed him, "I get to pick the last song." He told Phil. Phil nodded but made a grumpy face because he'd been losing. Dan knew exactly what song to choose. It was possibly the hardest song he knew of on DDR. And he had perfected it on the highest difficulty setting. He found the song, and hit play.

_Keep On Movin'_ came on, and Dan focused completely on the video game. Phil did too, but to a lesser extent, and with much less experience of the song. The moves were burnt into Dan's brain from hours of learning them. His body knew what to do when, and he only needed to pay half-attention to the screen telling them the moves.

Phil was nowhere near as familiar with the moves as Dan, and kept messing up in random places. Phil was getting tired, and he got a bit looser towards the end of the song. When it ended, his hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat, and he was gasping for air. He cursed himself for his lack of exercise. Phil got a 'B', which was better than he thought he'd get.

But the sense of victory was lost immediately when he looked at Dan's score. He noticed that not only did Dan get an 'A', but that he got perfect on every move.

"How the _hell_ did you get perfect on _every_ move?" Phil asked, bewildered. Dan smirked at him, his hours of practice shining through.

"I told you that I'd destroy you." He smiled confidently. Out of loss, Phil made a sad puppy-eyes face, which Dan perceived as the most astoundingly beautiful thing he'd ever seen. He stepped closer to Phil, their faces now only inches away. He wanted nothing more than to kiss him.

Apparently Phil felt the same way, as he cupped his hand on Dan's cheek and asked if he could kiss him. Dan smiled widely and nodded thoroughly. Phil brought his face closer to Dan's, both of them with their eyes closed.

The kiss didn't last too long, only around fifteen seconds of contact. But it felt like so much longer to Dan. He felt sparks inside, and wanted nothing more than to stay like that forever, melting into Phil.

Phil felt a small burning fire of passion in his chest when they kissed. He swore they had stayed like that for at least 5 minutes. He could've kissed his boyfriend's soft lips all day.

"Wow." Dan sighed contentedly, his grin reappearing. "Wow." Phil breathed in reply. They stood there for a few seconds, holding each other close, never wanting to let go.

They did though, because they had to, and settled for holding hands again. Dan's phone buzzed, and he pulled it out to see what it was.

Carrie had texted him. She said " _Hey Dan! I don't have a late show tonight so I'm free! I'm going for coffee with Pete, and I should be home within an hour! xx._ " He'd forgot to tell her that he was going out with Phil, so he texted her back saying _"I hope your show went well! I bet your singing was lovely! Have fun with Pete! I'm out with Phil, but I should be home by the time you are. I'll tell you all about it later <3_." He checked the time too, to make sure he'd been home when she was. _5:24 pm_.

Phil looked at Dan questionably, wondering what the message was about. Dan told Phil that it was his flatmate, Carrie, and told him what she had said. He nodded in understanding.

"Dan, I'm absolutely exhausted from DDR. Can we sit down or something?" Phil asked, his breathing still somewhat ragged. Whether it was from the game or the kiss, Dan didn’t know, but he presumed it was the former.

Phil sat down at a table with two chairs, with Dan following suit. They sat and talked for a while, letting time slip away, and before they knew it, a half hour had slipped by. Phil had bought a bag of Doritos for himself and a bag of Hula Hoops for Dan. When Dan pulled out his phone and saw the time, he told Phil that he’d have to go soon. Phil was a bit disappointed that he couldn’t spend more time with Dan, but didn’t show it because he knew it was unreasonable. Instead he just nodded.

“So, is there anything you wanna do before we go?” Dan asked, wanting to play one last game.

“Yeah, actually. I have an idea.” Phil smiled, before standing up and pulling Dan with him. Dan groaned internally, not wanting to move. Phil brought him to the crane machines. There were four claw machines, side by side. The first was full with the disgusting creatures that children seemed to love called Minions. The second was filled with the different emotions from Inside Out, the third with characters from Frozen. The last one, which they were standing in front of, had a variety of different animals.

Phil hadn’t said it, but Dan knew that he was going to try win him a teddy. He loved stuffed toys if he was honest, and still had one from his childhood. The fact that Phil was going to make an effort to get him one made him really happy.

Phil put money into the machine, and started moving the claw. He managed to  pick up an adorable black pug teddy, but the claw dropped it before it got to the dropbox. He sighed in frustration, before trying again. He picked up a lion this time, and grabbed its head with the claw perfectly. The claw dropped the lion into the dropbox, and Dan was surprised that Phil actually managed to win him something. Phil kissed the lion and gave it to Dan, smiling proudly. Dan pulled him in for a hug that lasted for at least half a minute.

Phil then gave Dan a kiss on the cheek as a goodbye. Dan kissed him back and left for the Underground Station, and for the second time that week he sat smiling stupidly wide for his whole tube journey home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops I meant to post this like a week ago but I was a lazy asshole and didn't finish it. Also again thanks to my trash friend Ciara for eventually beta-reading this. Also a huge thank you to everyone who gives kudos, leaves comments and bookmarks! You're awesome!  
> ((also whoops I barely know where this is going myself so sorry if it's a bit "??"))


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